The city is preparing to embark on a major redesign of Walsh Park, the nearly 7-acre park nestled between Lower Mills and Codman Hill that includes a playground, tennis and basketball courts, and ballfields.

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department held an initial, virtual meeting on June 29 to begin gathering input from neighbors on how to improve and program the park, which has not seen a substantial upgrade in decades.

City Councillor Brian Worrell pushed for design services in last year’s capital budget, from which $350,000 was taken to retain CBA Landscape Architects to get the process underway.

The park “looks the same as it did when I was going there, and I moved from Fuller Street when I was 13 years old,” he said. “I’m 40 now and so that’s 27 years of no improvements or investments in that neighborhood park.

“One of the key pieces I wanted at Walsh were upgrades to the tennis courts. Those courts now look like something out of the ‘Jumanji’ movie. It’s time to get much needed investments in all of our District 4 parks.”

Ryan Woods, the city’s Parks Commissioner, said the online meeting in June will be followed up by a pop-up meeting in the park on Thurs., Aug. 17, from 5-6:30 p.m. City project manager Amy Linné, a Dorchester resident, said a conceptual construction budget has been tabbed at $3 million, but that is very preliminary. A series of designs created from input gathered this summer is on track to be revealed at a meeting in the fall, she said.

One idea already tossed out comes from Kevin George, who leads the All Dorchester Sports & Leadership (ADSL) girls’ softball program, which has used Walsh Park for the last seven years for games and practices.

“We have a premier program now for ADSL Dorchester girls’ softball,” he said. “It would be nice to also have a premier softball facility for the girls that is similar to the setup at Carter Playground in the South End. We think that would really bring us to the next level for ADSL girls’ softball.”

George said ADSL has used Walsh Park, if reluctantly, because there were no other playing fields available close to home. “I took a look at it and it was a total mess,” he said. “No one had the permit because it was a mess.”

After a few calls to then-Mayor Marty Walsh, the field was put into usable shape and has been a “core field” for ADSL along with their No. 1 field, Toohig Park on Gallivan Boulevard, while also scheduling some dates at Town Field and the newly improved McConnell Park in Savin Hill.

McConnell had once been slotted for a girls’ softball complex, but that was changed in the design process and only one multi-use field was put in for softball, and it is shared with soccer. A new Little League baseball field was installed instead of the softball complex.

Baseball fields and softball fields differ primarily in that softball fields cannot have a raised pitching mound, and baseball requires a raised mound.

ADSL would like to see a turf field installed at Walsh so that girls can play out their schedules in the spring, summer, and fall.

“We really want the turf surface because it can rain and you can still play because it dries out so quickly,” he said. “Other places, like Parkway, English High and Charlestown, have turf fields, and we’d really like that for the girls, too.

“If we get that, it will turn Walsh into our No. 1 field and Toohig would become number two. …We really need a turf softball field at Walsh dedicated to girls softball.”

While softball carves out a big part of the Walsh facility, there are still many other opportunities for better recreation, including renovated basketball and tennis courts. Both are in poor condition and would be renovated as part of the project.

Additionally, Linné said, they will be rebuilding the playground, and likely will include a water spray deck feature and a shade structure. Attention will also be paid to adding more trees for shade, though, she said, the park is blessed already with many mature trees providing a lot of shade.

There have also been requests for something creative to be done with the large hill on the north side of the park, which is commonly used by high school athletes in the summer to train for fall and winter sports.

“That hill has been the training ground for many a high school athlete in the neighborhood,” said Worrell.

Linné said construction is slated to start in summer 2024 with a potential opening of the renovated facility in spring 2025.
Walsh Park is named for Gunnery Sgt. William Gary Walsh, who was killed in action in the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. Related story.